Sunday, July 30, 2017

The Rev. Brian Cole was elected the 5th Bishop of the Episcopal Church in East Tennessee Friday at St. John’s Episcopal Cathedral in Knoxville. The election culminated a search process lasting just over a year.

Cole was elected from a field of five candidates.

Cole, 49 has served as rector of the Church of the Good Shepherd in Lexington, Kentucky, since 2012.

Pending the canonically required consent of a majority of The Episcopal Church’s diocesan Standing Committees and bishops with jurisdiction, Cole will be ordained and consecrated on Dec. 2 by the Most Reverent Michael B. Curry, Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church.

The service will be held at the Episcopal Church of the Ascension in Knoxville.

In order to be elected, Cole needed to receive a simple majority of votes from both clergy and the lay delegates to the electing session of the 33rd Convention of the Episcopal Church in East Tennessee, voting as separate orders on the same balloting round.